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TRANSFORM
unites corporates, donors, investors, and
academics to support visionary impact
enterprises. Together, we test and scale new
solutions that tackle environmental challenges,
improve health and wellbeing, and build
inclusive economies; ultimately supporting low-
income households.We combine grant funding, business insight, on-the-ground experience, resources, and networks. Our tailored approach creates evidence which we share widely to help leaders across the world solve global challenges.
TRANSFORM is based on a desire to address urgent issues by learning from each other. Established in 2015 and led by Unilever, the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office and EY, we have a proven model and an ambition to increase our impact across Africa,
Asia and beyond.
TRANSFORM has supported over 100 projects in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, impacting the lives of over 9 million people. Kidame Mart is one of the social enterprises that TRANSFORM has funded twice.
Kidame Mart’s hypothesis for the first TRANSFORM funded project was that a new local partnership model of rural entrepreneurship can empower female entrepreneurs and solve the challenge of last mile distribution in Ethiopia. With support and funding from TRANSFORM, Kidame Mart pilot and test the innovative model of rural entrepreneurship. By joining forces with EthioChicken, a company with a proven last-mile distribution model, we were then able to scale the model to improve the nutrition and livelihoods of rural Ethiopians. Additionally, Kidame Mart was able to test the use of mobile money; new sales agents made purchases utilizing the system, which helped them establish credit histories and gave them access to financing for future business expansion. In response to COVID-19, additional support from TRANSFORM allowed Kidame Mart to implement better cleanliness practices in their agent
training program.
Currently, we are working together to develop WASH-related training an innovative pilot that will enable sales representatives to offer hygiene and sanitation products from tiny kiosks. TRANSFORM and Kidame Mart have made strides in improving the lives of women. As a result, investments in Kidame Mart have started to come from the public and commercial sectors as well as from both abroad and locally. With the help of these new alliances, the number of sales agents increased from 3,000 to more than 4,000 in just one year.
